Hour Photo/ Alex von Kleydorff. Stamford Police Sgt. Joe Kennedy is joined by members of the police deparment as they leave the arraignment of Frank Douglas at Stamford Superior Courthouse.

Hour Photo/ Alex von Kleydorff. Stamford Police Sgt. Joe Kennedy is joined by members of the police deparment as they leave the arraignment of Frank Douglas at Stamford Superior Courthouse.

Photo: 2012 The Hour Newspapers

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Frank Douglas.

Frank Douglas.

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Hour photo / Alex von Kleydorff

Above and below, Stamford Police Sgt. Joe Kennedy talks to the media about the condition of injured officer Troy Strauser with Stamford Police alongside him in front of the Stamford Superior Courthouse.

Hour Photo/ Alex von Kleydorff. Stamford Police Sgt Joe Kennedy talks to the media about the condition of Officer Troy Strauser who was injured in Norwalk Thursday during a chase, and is in Norwalk hspitals ICU.

Hour Photo/ Alex von Kleydorff. Stamford Police Sgt Joe Kennedy talks to the media about the condition of Officer Troy Strauser who was injured in Norwalk Thursday during a chase, and is in Norwalk hspitals

STAMFORD -- Stamford Police turned out in force Friday at Stamford Superior Court for the arraignment of an alleged robber whose attempt to evade police led to Officer Troy Strauser, a five-year veteran of the department, being critically injured.

Frank O. Douglas, 30, of Norwalk, was charged with assault on a police officer, interfering with police, second-degree robbery, engaging police in pursuit, cruelty to animals and several motor vehicle charges. His bond remained at $500,000 and his case was transferred to the Part A docket, where more serious cases are tried. His next court date is June 7.

Strauser underwent three surgeries in an 18 hour span Thursday, and doctors are currently taking measures to ensure that Strauser does not get any infections from his internal injuries, police said. He is still listed in critical condition. Sgt. Joe Kennedy, president of the Stamford Police union, said the department is "very encouraged about what transpired in the past 24 hours."

"I see him back on the job, but I just don't have that expertise," Kennedy said.

Kennedy, who described Strauser as "a friend, a family man and one of us," said the department is doing everything in its power to help Strauser's family.

"We're 100 percent behind him," he said.

Police say Douglas and another man were involved in the beating and robbery of a Hispanic male near the intersection of West Main and Diaz streets in Stamford early Thursday morning. A complainant called 911 to report the incident, telling police that the suspects had taken the victim's wallet and fled in a white BMW.

Officers spotted the suspect's vehicle on West Main Street, and the suspects tried to evade police, leading police on a high speed chase on I-95 that ended when the suspect crashed his car in Norwalk at the intersection of Reed Street and Fairfield Avenue, police said.

After jumping off the embankment with the officer on his tail, the suspect ran across six lanes of traffic, police said.

While chasing Douglas, Strauser fell off the embankment and landed on a guardrail, police said. Strauser was bleeding heavily and complaining of severe arm pain, according to Norwalk Police reports. Norwalk Police rushed Strauser to Norwalk Hospital in a police cruiser.

Assistant Stamford Police Chief Jim Matheny said the high-speed chase was authorized, and it is standard procedure to pursue suspects in highway chases when the suspects have committed felonies, such as a robbery.

Matheny said investigators are still searching for the second robbery suspect and are currently in the process of reviewing surveillance video that was taken in the area of the robbery.

He said he couldn't speculate on when and where the second suspect exited the vehicle.

"One door was opened and one door was closed (when the chase ended), but the car was in a collision," he said. "That could have just been random physics."

Attorney Darnell Crosland said his client had nothing to do with the robbery, and he did not stop his vehicle due to his lack of a driver's license.

Douglas has prior convictions for operating without a license. Crosland said Douglas had been hanging out in a nearby park and was on his way home when police tried to stop him.

"The charges against my client are in dispute, for the most part," said Crosland. "However, what's not in dispute is that I, as well as my client, sympathize with Troy and pray for his speedy recovery."

Douglas did not intend to cause harm to Strauser, and he was "emotional" when he heard Strauser was severely injured, Crosland said.

"The first thing he said to me was, 'Tell me what's going on with the officer,'" he said.